FT 


MEADE 


4LD 

40 

Copy 1 

HISTORICAL SKETCH 




OF THE 



IN VIRGINIA. 






RICHMOND: 

GARY & CLEMMITT, PRINTERS. 

1866 . 





























HISTORICAL SKETCH 


OF THE 


Mle§e of 



11ST VIRGINIA.' 


RICHMOND: 

GARY & CLEMMITT, PRINTERS. 
18 6 6 , 


* > 


















GIFT 
ESTATE OF 
WILLIAM C. RIVES 
\APRIL§ 1040 








































HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


Soon after the settlement at Jamestown, (1607,) fifteen 
thousand acres of land were appropriated at the instance of 
Sir Edwin Sandys, President of the Company in England, 
to endow a University, to be established at Henrico, for the 
Colonists and Indians. About the same time, (1619,) fifteen 
hundred pounds were contributed in England, through the 
Bishops, to endow a College in Virginia for the Indians; 
and a little later, (1621,) one hundred and fifty pounds were 
subscribed to endow the East India School at Charles City, 
and one thousand acres of land, five servants and an over¬ 
seer allotted to it. This was designed to he preparatory to 
the University at Henrico. Mr George Thorpe, a gentle¬ 
man of his Majesty’s privy Chamber, came over to he the 
Superintendent of the University; hut was on the 22d 
March, 1622, with three hundred and forty of the Colonists, 
including a number of the College tenants, killed by the In¬ 
dians. This disaster followed by the troubles in the Mo¬ 
ther Country, and at a later period by the discontent and dis¬ 
orders in the Colony, which were produced mainly by the 
arbitrary rule of Sir William Berkeley, the Royal Governor, 
and which culminated in Bacon’s Rebellion, prevented any 
renewal of the attempt to establish a College in the Colony 
of Virginia till the Revolution of 1688, which seated Wil¬ 
liam and Mary on the English Throne, and inaugurated a 
better state of things. 

In 1688 and ’89, efforts for a College were renewed, and 
twenty-five hundred pounds sterling subscribed by a few 
wealthy Virginians and benevolent English merchants. The 
Colonial Assembly, in 1691, approved the scheme, and sent 
the Rev. Mr. James Blair, afterwards Commissary of Vir- 









4 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

ginia, to solicit a charter from the Crown. Queen Mary, to 
whom Mr. Blair first unfolded the object of his visit, was 
well pleased with the noble design, and zealously espoused 
it. William concurred with her, and they gave “out of the 
quit-rents” two thousand pounds towards the building. Mr. 
Blair was directed to convey to Seymour, the Attorney 
General, the royal commands to issue the charter. “ Sey¬ 
mour remonstrated against this liberality, upon the ground 
that the nation was engaged in an expensive war; that the 
money was wanted for better purposes, and that he did not 
see the slightest occasion for a College in Virginia.” The 
Rev. Mr. Blair represented to him that its intention was to 
educate and qualify young men to be ministers of the Gos¬ 
pel, and begged Mr. Attorney would consider that the peo¬ 
ple of Virginia had souls to be saved as well as the people 
of England. “ Souls!” exclaimed the imperious Seymour; 
“ damn your souls, make tobacco!” The charter of the Col¬ 
lege was prepared however, and signed on the 8th day of 
February, in the fourth year of the reign of William and 
Mary, which date corresponds under the new style with the 
19th of February, 1693. It was granted “ to the end that 
the Church of Virginia may he furnished with a seminary 
of ministers of the Gospel, and that the youth may be 
piously educated in good letters and manners, and that the 
Christian faith may be propagated amongst the Western In¬ 
dians to the glory of Almighty God.” The third act of the 
Virginia Assembly, in the fifth year of the reign of William 
and Mary, provides; “ That Middle Plantation (now Wil¬ 
liamsburg) be the place for erecting the said College of 
William and Mary in Virginia, and that the said College be 
at that place erected and built as neare the Church now 
standing in Middle Plantation old fields as convenience will 
permitt.” 

Trustees named in the Charter were constituted the body 
corporate to establish the College, and to appoint Masters 
or Professors, hut were required after the establishment to 







HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


5 


transfer to the President, Masters or Professors, or their 
successors, the lands, inheritances, chattels, &c. 

The Charter further provides, that the College “ shall he 
called and denominated forever “ the College of William 
and Mary, in Virginia;” and the President and Masters, or 
Professors of the said College, shall be a body politic in deed 
and in name.” 

• It was further provided, that after the transfer of the cor¬ 
porate powers, the Trustees should be “ the true, sole and 
undoubted Visitors and Governors of the College.” 

The Charter confirms to the President and Masters, or 
Professors, that there shall he a Chancellor of the College; 
appoints “ the Peverend Father in God, Henry, by Divine 
permission, Bishop of London,” first Chancellor, and re¬ 
quires that the Visitors and Governors of the College shall 
elect a discreet person to this office every seven years. 

Towards the endowment of the College, William III. 
and Mary contributed one thousand nine hundred and 
eighty-five pounds fourteen shillings and tenpence, raised 
out of the quit-rents of the Colony, and at that time in the 
hands of William Byrd, Auditor; one penny a pound on 
all tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland; the office 
of Surveyor General with all its issues, fees, profits, advan¬ 
tages, conveniences, liberties, places, privileges, and pre¬ 
eminences whatsoever; ten thousand acres of land lying on 
the south side of Blackwater Swamp, and ten thousand 
acres lying in that neck of land, commonly called Pamunky 
neck, between the forks of York Kiver. 

The faculty had the right to elect either one of their own 
body, one of the Visitors of the College, or “ one of the 
better sort of inhabitants of the colony,” to represent the 
College in the House of Burgesses. 

The College building was planned by Sir Christopher 
Wren, and it was designed, says Beverly, “ to be an entire 
square when completed.” The first commencement exer¬ 
cises were held in 1700, “ at which there was a great con- 







6 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


course of people; several planters came thither in coaches, 
and others in sloops from Hew York, Pennsylvania and 
Maryland, it being a new thing in that part of America to 
hear graduates perform their exercises. The Indians had 
the curiosity, some of them, to visit Williamsburg upon that 
occasion; and the whole country rejoiced, as if they had 
some relish of learning.” 

The General Assembly of Virginia “ was held at his Ma¬ 
jesty’s Royal Colledge of William and Mary” from 1700 
until 1705, when, together with library and philosophical 
apparatus, it was destroyed by fire. “ The fire broke out 
about ten o’clock at night in a public time. The Governor 
and all the gentlemen that were in town came up to the 
lamentable spectacle, many getting out of their beds. But 
the fire had got such power before it was discovered, and 
was so fierce, that there was no hope of putting a stop to 
it, and therefore no attempts were made to that end.” The 
second building was commenced in the time of Governor 
Spottswood; hut owing to the want of available means, and 
the scarcity of workmen, it was not finished until 1723. In 
1719 it was occupied by the Convention of the Colonial 
Clergy. 

Row that the College was fully established, the transfer 
of the corporate rights was shortly made to the faculty in 
1729, and the Trustees became “ The Visitors and Gover¬ 
nors of the College of William and Mary, in Virginia.” 

The first entry in the oldest record-hook of the faculty 
is, “ In nomine Dei, Patris, Pilii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.” 
Until the Revolution the Bishops of London, with a single 
interregnum, were Chancellors of the College. On the 
18th of January, 1764, the Earl of Hardwicke had been 
elected Chancellor; hut the intelligence of this did not ar¬ 
rive in England until after his death, of which his son and 
successor in the title wrote to apprise the Faculty. The 
Commissaries, too, with one exception, were Presidents of 
the College, and every Bishop of .Virginia has been con- 








HISTORICAL SKETCH. 7 - 

nected with it. Bishop Meade, in “ Old Churches, Minis¬ 
ters and Families of Virginia,” says: “ One thing is set 
forth in praise of William and Mary which we delight to 
record, viz : that the hopes and designs of its founders and 
early benefactors, in relation to its being a nursery of pious 
ministers, were not entirely disappointed. It is positively 
affirmed, by those most competent to speak, that the best 
ministers in Virginia were those educated at the College 
and sent over to England for ordination. The foreigners 
were the great scandal of the Church.” 

The condition upon which twenty thousand acres of land 
were given to the College was, that the President and Pro¬ 
fessors should pay annually, on the 5th of November, two 
copies of Latin verses to the Governor or Lieutenant Gov¬ 
ernor of the Dominion of Virginia. That this was com¬ 
plied with, we may infer from the following extract from 
t the Virginia Gazette of November 12th, 1736: “ On this 
day sen’night, being the 5th of November, the’President, 
masters and scholars of William and Mary College went, 
according to their annual custom, in a body to the Govern¬ 
or’s to present his honor with two copies of Latin verses, 
in obedience to their charter, as a grateful acknowledgment 
for two valuable tracts of land given the said College by 
their late King William and Queen Mary. Mr. President 
delivered the verses to his honor, and two of the young 
gentlemen spoke them. It is further observed that there 
were upwards of sixty scholars present, a much greater 
number than has been any year before since the foundation 
of the College.” 

The Colonial Governors, for the most part, took an ac¬ 
tive interest in the welfare of the College. Lord Botetourt 
gave a sum of money, the interest of which was sufficient 
to purchase annually two gold medals—one to be given to 
the best classical scholar, the other to the best scholar in 
philosophy. This medal was annually awarded until the 
Revolution. The first competitors for the Episcopate of 




HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


8 

Virginia, the Rev. James Madison and the Rev. Samuel 
Shield, both received this medal; the former in 1772, the 
latter in 1773. 

The Hon. Robert Boyle, who died in 1691, in his will 
directed his executors, the Right lion. Richard, Earl of 
Burlington, Sir Henry Ashurst, Knight and Baronet, and 
John Marr, gentleman, “to apply his personal, estate to 
such charitable and pious uses as they in their discretion 
should think tit.” After some litigation in England, in 
pursuance of a decree of court, the Earl of Burlington and 
Henry, Lord Bishop of London, agreed, on the 21st of De- 
cember, 1697, to bestow the charity in Virginia, arranging 
that the annual rents, subject to ninety pounds, given to 
Harvard University at Cambridge, Massachusetts, should 
be paid to the President and Professors of the College of 
"William and Mary in Virginia, for the purpose of main¬ 
taining and educating Indian scholars. The fund was in¬ 
vested in an English estate called the BrafFerton, and with 
the proceeds of it the building on the College green, now 
known as the Brafferton, was erected; and until the Revo¬ 
lution, Indians were supported and educated by this charity. 
The Westover manuscripts inform us that “during the 
sanguinary war w T ith the Indians, in which Horth Carolina 
had been engaged, Governor Spottswood demanded of the 
tribes, tributary to Virginia a number of the sons of the 
chiefs, to be sent to the College of William and Mary, 
where they served as hostages to keep the peace, and en¬ 
joyed the advantage of learning to read and write English, 
and were instructed in the Christian religion. But on re¬ 
turning to their own people, they relapsed into idolatry and 
barbarism.” 

The foundation of President’s house was laid on the 31st 
of July, 1732—the President (the Rev. James Blair), Mr. 
Dawson (afterwards Commissary of Virginia), Mr. Fry 
(afterwards Colonel Fry, under whom Washington served), 
Mr Stith (the historian), and Mr. Fox, laying the first five 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 9 

bricks in order one after another. During the American 
Revolution this building was burnt, whilst it was occupied 
by the French troops, before the seige of Yorktown; but 
Louis XYI. generously rebuilt it, and about this time pre¬ 
sented five or six hundred volumes of great value to the 
library of the College. The walls, however, had not been 
much injured by the fire. 

The old chapel was first opened on the 28th of June, 
1732, and the Rev. James Blair, the President, preached a 
sermon from the text, “ Train up a child in the way he 
should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” 
Prod. xxii. 6. In “ Old Churches and Families of Vir¬ 
ginia,” Bishop Meade says: “Williamsburg was once the 
miniature copy of the Court of St. James, somewhat aping 
the manners of that royal place, while the old church and 
its graveyard and the College Chapel were—si licet cum 
magnis componere parva—the Westminster Abbey and the 
St. Paul’s of London, where the great ones were interred.” 
Sir John Randolph was the first person buried in the Col¬ 
lege Chapel. 

The remains of Lord Botetourt rest in the same vault 
with those of Sir John Randolph. 

Peyton Randolph, the President of the first American 
Congress, and John Randolph, Attorney General of the 
Crown for the Colony of Virginia, sons of Sir John Ran¬ 
dolph; Bishop Madison, the first Bishop of Virginia, and 
Chancellor Nelson, were also buried in the College Chapel. 

In 1726 a duty was laid on liquors by the House of Bur¬ 
gesses, to be applied to the current expenses of the College 
and for founding scholarships. 

In 1717 Mrs. Philarity Giles, of Isle of Wight, left by will 
her reversionary interest in lands, on the Blackwater in the 
same county, to the College. 

In 1759 a grant was made by the House of Bugesses to 
the College of the proceeds of the tax on peddlers. 

Before the Revolution the following donations were made 
2 







10 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

to the College for “ foundations of scholarships: ” General 
Assembly, one thousand pounds; Col. Edward Hill of 
Shirly, Charles City, one hundred and fifty pounds; Robert 
Carter, of Corotoman, fifty pounds; Mrs. Bray, widow of 
Capt. Thos. Bray, Hew Kent, two hundred pounds; Mrs. 
Elizabeth Harrison, of Surrey, three hundred pounds; the 
Rev. James Blair, five hundred pounds; Philip Lightfoot, 
Esq., of Sandy Point, five hundred pounds. A gilt cup 
was presented to the College by Lady Gooch, of England. 
The Earl of Burlington presented a portrait of his brother, 
the Hon. Robert Boyle. It is now, with several other inter¬ 
esting portraits, in possession of the College authorities. 

Hr. James Blair, a native of Scotland and an Episcopal 
clergyman, was the first President of the College. He was 
appointed to the office by the charter. At the instance of 
the Bishop of London he came as a missionary to Virginia, 
in 1685. He was appointed Commissary, or Representative 
of the Bishop in the Colony, in 1689. He revived the pro¬ 
ject of establishing a College in Virginia, entertained in 
1619, but defeated by the Indian massacre in 1622. With 
justice he may be considered the father of William and 
Mary College; for his exertions, both in this country and 
in England, contributed greatly to the success of the enter¬ 
prise. He died in 1743, after having filled the office of 
President of the College for half a century. 

Before the Revolution the College consisted of a school 
of Divinity, one of Philosophy, in which Hatural Philoso¬ 
phy and Mathematics were taught, a Grammar school for 
instruction in the Ancient Languages, and an Indian school 
supported by the donation of the Hon. Robert Boyle, in 
which, from about the year 1700 to 1776, eight to ten 
Indians were annually maintained and educated. Some of 
these Indians came a distance of four hundred miles from 
the College. 

The College long exercised the duties of the office of Sur¬ 
veyor General of the Colony of Virginia; and among the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 11 

surveyors appointed by it were George Washington, and 
Zachary Taylor of Orange, the grandfather of the late Ge¬ 
neral Taylor, President of the United States. 

For about seventy years previous to the Revolution, the 
average number of students was about sixty; from ten to 
fifteen of whom were received on the scholarships or foun¬ 
dations. At the beginning of the Revolution the number 
was seventy. 

Prior to the Revolution, the annual income of the Col¬ 
lege, from duties granted in the Charter and by the Colony, 
from “ Boyle’s Charity,” funded capital and scholarships, 
was nearly four thousand pounds sterling. In 1776 it was 
the richest College in North America, and had been the con¬ 
stant recipient of royal colonial and private benefactions. 
By the Revolution it lost, in consequence of the depreciation 
of paper money, all of its endowment, save about two thou¬ 
sand five hundred dollars in money, and the then unpro¬ 
ductive lands granted by the English Crown. 

It furnished to the American Revolution Benjamin Har¬ 
rison, Carter Braxton, Thomas Nelson and George Wythe, 
signers of the Declaration; Peyton Randolph, President of 
the first American Congress; Edmund Randolph, Attorney 
General and Secretary of State; John Marshall, Chief Jus¬ 
tice; Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, Presidents of 
the United States, and a host of others, among them John 
Tyler, Senior, Governor of Virginia, John Tayloe of Caro¬ 
line, the Nelsons, the Blands, the Pages, the Harrisons, the 
Carters, the Nicholases, the Braxtons, the Grymeses, the 
Burwells, the Lewises, the Lyonses, the Mercers, the Cockes, 
the Bollings, the Nicholsons and the Carringtons, whose 
names are national and historic. Thirty Students and 
three Professors joined the army during the Revolutionary 
War. 

The following extracts from the proceedings of the Fa¬ 
culty shed light upon the history of the College before the 
Revolutionary War: 




HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


12 

“June 28th, 1732.—The College Chapel was opened. Mr. President (the 
Rev. Mr. Blair) preached on Proverbs, xxii: 6. 

“July 31st, 1732.—The foundation of the President’s house at the College 
was laid. The President, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Fry, Mr. Stith, (afterwards the histo¬ 
rian,) and Mr. Fox, laying the first five bricks in order, one after another. 

“ Jany. y e 14, 1754. Resolved, Y* a person be appointed to hear such boys 
as shall be recommended by their parents or guardians, a chapter in the Bible 
every school-day, at 12 o’clock, and y* he have y e yearly salary of one pistole 
for each boy so recommended.” 

“Aug. 29, 1754. Resolved, unanimously, Y 4 Mr. Commissary Dawson be 
allowed y c use of y e Hall and great room during y e meeting of y e clergy.” 

“April 2nd, 1756. Y 8 day Benjamin Franklin, Esquire, favored y e society 
with his company, and had y e Degree of A. M. conferred upon him by y e Rev. 
G. Dawson. A. M., President, to whom he was in public presented by the Rev. 
William Preston, A. M.” 

“ February 14th, 1772. Upon motion made by Mr. Johnson, it was ordered 
that the students in the philosophy schools shall speak Latin declamations of 
their composition, and that by two of them in rotation this exercise shall be 
performed in the chapel immediately after evening service, every second Thurs¬ 
day during term-time. 

“ July 29th, 1772. That the medal assigned by his Excellency Lord Bote¬ 
tourt, for the encouragement of students in philosophical learning, be given to 
Mr. Nathaniel Burwell, as being the best proficient. Resolved, that the medal 
assigned by his lordship for the encouragement of classing learning be given to 
Mr. James Madison. 

“ October 14th, 1773. Agreed unanimously, that Mr. Thomas Jefferson be 
appointed surveyor of Albemarle, in the room of Mr. Nicholas Lewis, who has 
sent his letter of resignation, and that he be allowed to have a deputy. 

From the Statutes of the College, published in 1792: 

“ Be it ordained, That the drinking of spirituous liquors (except in that mo¬ 
deration which becomes the prudent and industrious student) be prohibited.” 

From a copy of the Old Laws: 

“No other person than a student or other member of the College shall be 
admitted as a boarder at the College table. No liquors shall be furnished or 
used at table except beer, cider, toddy, or spirits and water. 

“ The keeper of the College table shall, on no pretext nor for any consider¬ 
ation, furnish or sell to the students wine or any other spirituous liquors, to be 
drunk at any other time or place, than at their ordinary meals, as aforesaid.” 

From Weld’s Travels: “ The Bishop of Virginia is President of the College, 
and has apartments in the buildings. Half a dozen or more of the students, 
the eldest about twelve years of age, dined at his table one day while I was 
there; some were without shoes or stockings, others without coats. During the 
dinner, they constantly rose to help themselves at the sideboard. A couple of 












HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


13 


dishes of salted meat and some oyster soap formed the above dinner. I only 
mention this, as it may convey some idea of American Colleges and American 
Dignitaries." [The date of the preface to Weld’s Travels is December 20th, 1798.] 

Tlie parent society, in this country, of the Phi Betta 
Kappa was organized at William and Mary College the 5th 
December, 1776. The first meeting was held in the Apollo 
Hall of the old Raleigh Tavern of Williamsburg, the room 
in which the fust revolutionary spirit of Virginia was 
breathed in the burning words of Henry. The original 
charter of this society is now in the possession of the His¬ 
torical Society of this State. 

Among the names of the original members are to be 
found the following: William Short, George Braxton, 
Hartwell Cocke, Spencer Roane, John Page, John Mar¬ 
shall and Bushrod Washington. 

When the College broke up in 1781, the Records of the 
Society were sealed up and placed in the hands of the Col¬ 
lege Steward, and subsequently they came into the posses¬ 
sion of the Historical Society of Virginia. On examina¬ 
tion in 1850, it was found that one of the old members— 
William Short, of Philadelphia—still survived. It was 
also discovered that he was President of the Society when 
it was interrupted. Measures were immediately taken to 
revive it in the College with Mr. Short as the connecting 
link with the original Society. This was done, and it is 
now in active operation. 

In 1781 the exercises of the College were suspended and 
the buildings were alternately occupied, the summer before 
the memorable seige of Yorktown by the British and the 
French and American troops. Whilst occupied by the lat¬ 
ter, the College was injured and the President’s house de¬ 
stroyed by fire. This was subsequently rebuilt at the ex¬ 
pense of the French government. It does not appear how 
long the College was closed; probably the exercises were 
suspended not more than a year. In 1790, there was a re¬ 
spectable number of students. 














HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


14 

After the Revolution, the General Assembly of Virginia 
gave to the College the Palace Lands and the houses upon 
them, a tract of land near Williamsburg, known as the 
“ Vineyard, ” and a few acres not far from Jamestown. 
The organization of the College was now changed. Mr. 
Jefferson, in his Autobiography, says : On the 1st of June, 
1779, I was appointed Governor of the Commonwealth, and 
retired from the Legislature. Being elected also one of the 
Visitors of William and Mary College, a self-electing body, 
I effected during my residence in Williamsburg that year a 
change in the organization of that institution, by abolish¬ 
ing the Grammar School and the two Professorships of Di¬ 
vinity and Oriental Languages, and substituting a Profes¬ 
sorship of Law and Police, one of Anatomy, Medicine and 
Chemistry, and one of Modern Languages; and the char¬ 
ter confining us to six Professors, we added the Law 
of Nature and Nations, and the Fine Arts, to the duties of 
the Moral Professor, and Natural History to those of the 
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.” The 
Indian school was abandoned in consequence of the loss of 
the manor of Brafferton by the Revolution. 

In 1788 George Washington was made Chancellor of the 
College. His letter of acceptance is as follows : 

Mount Vernon, April 30 th, 1788. 

Dear Sir: 

I am now to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th inst., in 
which you did me the favor to enclose an extract from the original statute 
designating the duties of the office to which I had been appointed. 

Influenced by a heartfelt desire to promote the cause of science in general 
and the College of William and Mary in particular, I accept the office of 
Chancellor of the same, and request you will be pleased to give official notice 
thereof to the learned body who have thought proper to honor me with the 
appointment. 

I confide fully in their strenuous endeavours for placing the system of edu¬ 
cation on such a basis as will render it most beneficial to the State and the re¬ 
public of letters, as well as to the more extensive interests of humanity and 
religion. In return they will do me the justice to believe that I shall not be 








HISTORICAL SKETCH, 


15 


tardy in giving my cheerful concurrence to such measures as may be best cal¬ 
culated for the attainment of those desirable and important objects. 

For the expressions of politeness and friendship blended with your commu¬ 
nication, I pray you to receive my best acknowledgments. With sentiments 
of the highest esteem and regard, 

I am, Dear Sir, 


Your obedient and very humble servant, 


GEORGE WASHINGTON. 


Samuel Griffin, Esq,., 

Rector of the College of William and Mary. 


Notwithstanding the depressed and impoverished condi¬ 
tion of the College at the termination of the Revolutionary 
war, it speedily revived, and under the guidance and teach¬ 
ings of Bishop Madison, and his associates, sent forth John 
Tyler, President of the United States, Littleton Waller 
Tazewell, William B. Giles, John Randolph, Spencer Roane, 
Bushrod Washington, John Breckenridge, Archibald Stew¬ 
art, William Brockenborough, James P. Preston, Robert 
Stanard, Wm. H. Roane, Robert B. Taylor, George M. 
Bibb, Wm. T. Barry, William H. Fitzhugh, Philip P. Bar- 
hour, Berij. Watkins Leigh, Wm. II Cabell, Chapman 
Johnson, Briscoe G. Baldwin, Roger Jones, George Cro- 
ghan, II. St. Geo. Tucker, John Tayloe Lomax, John Nel¬ 
son, Wm. S. Archer, John J. Crittenden, John H. Cocke, 
Powhatan Ellis, Winfield Scott, Wm. C. Rives, and many 
others of like renown to National and State service. 

Since 1835, say twenty-five years of its active existence, 
(within this time its exercises have been for five years sus¬ 
pended,) the College matriculation hook shows an average 
of seventy-five students who have drunk at the fountains of 
Philosophy, Literature and Science under the direction of 
the late Thomas R. Dew, the late Judge N. Beverly Tucker, 
the Right Rev. John Johns, Bishop of Virginia and their 
co-laborers and successors, and who have proved themselves 
in every way worthy of their predecessors, and, in numer¬ 
ous cases, filled important positions in Church and State. 









16 


HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


On the night of the 8th February, 1859, at a time when 
the Alumni of the College were on the eve of celebrating 
the 166th anniversary of its foundation, the College build¬ 
ing, with most of its interesting antiquities was destroyed 
by accidental fire. The Library containing many curious 
and rare books, with some manuscripts, chiefly presented 
by Kings, Archbishops, Bishops and G-overnors, and the 
cabinet of apparatus in which were instruments more than 
a century old, the gift of the Colonial House of Burgesses, 
were consumed. The mural tablets in the chapel to the 
memories of Sir John Randolph and Bishop Madison, were 
also destroyed. Notwithstanding this terrible disaster, the 
celebration took place. The following is part of an elo¬ 
quent address delivered on that interesting occasion by a 
most distinguished and honored Alumnus—the late Ex- 
President Tyler—at the time of his death Chancellor of the 
Institution: 

Like an aged Nestor, that building has stood until within a few days past, » 
amid civil convulsions which have shaken continents. At the time of its erec¬ 
tion, it looked out upon a country in the early infancy of settlement, contain¬ 
ing a population in all the English colorpes which was not greater than that 
which at this day is found in.the smallest State of the Union. It beheld that 
population expanding over regions bounded by the two great oceans, to be 
counted by millions'in place of the scattered thousands of that early day. It 
has seen the colonies shake off the badges of puberty, and put on the toga 
virilis. It saw the Congress before and after it had assembled under the Arti¬ 
cles of Confederation, and those articles substituted by the Constitution under 
which it is now our happiness to live. It re-echoed the words of the forest- 
born Demosthenes in 1765, asserting the rights of America to be “Natural, 
Constitutional and Chartered,” and in thunder-tones at an after day, its walls 
resounded to the words “Liberty or Death,” uttered by the same eloquent lips. 
Itself an offspring of the Revolution of 16$8, its sons were the warm and en¬ 
thusiastic advocates of that of 1776. 

Under the ipfluence of its teachings its students threw aside for a season 
their volumes, 'and girded on the sword to do battle in the great cause of 
liberty. 

The calm and silver-toned voice of philosophy heard within its walls, has 
been oftimes hushed by the clangor of drums and trumpets. 

At one time it gave reluctant shelter to the British troops as they passed on 
to Yorktown; and soon after its gates were opened wide to give willing and 













HISTORICAL SKETCH. 17 


exultant reception to the troops with their tattered banners which followed 
Cornwallis to his last retreat. 

Its walls were alternately shaken by the thunder of the cannon at York- 
town, and by the triumphant shouts of the noble bands who had fought and 
conquered in the name of American Independence. 

The boy had gone forth with the surveyor’s staff, which it had placed in his 
hands, into the wilderness of the West, and now returned the hero and the 
conqueror, and once more stood within its walls, surrounded by the chivalry 
of France and America, wearing on his brow imperishable laurels, and making 
the name of Washington foremost on the rolls of fame. 

If her catalogue closed with the names of those who belong to the dead 
generations, might not William and Mary take her place among her sister 
Universities proudly and rightfully ? But it bears the names of men of living 
generations, who add to her renown. In the various pursuits of life they per¬ 
form well their several parts. The pulpit from which are uttered those great 
truths so essential for time and eternity, resounds with their eloquence; 
while on the bench of justice, at the legal forum, in the State Legislatures, in 
the National Councils, in the active marts of commerce, in the pursuits of agri¬ 
culture, in the tented camps, their names are honored, their attainments re¬ 
spected, and their opinions and examples, quoted and followed. 

The following is extracted from a report made to the Fa¬ 
culty of William and Mary at a meeting on the 8th Febru¬ 
ary, 1860, one year after its destruction by fire, on the gene¬ 
ral condition of the College. 

The new College edifice has been completed, and fully furnished. On the 
11th October, 1859, the capstone of the building was laid by the Grand Lodge 
of Virginia, and the College exercises have been conducted in it without inter¬ 
ruption from the beginning of the present session. The buildings are in every 
way suitable, and in an eminent degree convenient and comfortable. The 
lecture rooms are furnished with all the appliances for illustration in the seve¬ 
ral departments of instruction. The Philosophical 'apparatus is very com¬ 
plete. The walls of the lecture rooms of Natural Science are hung with valu¬ 
able pictorial diagrams. The department of Chemistry is well provided with 
chemicals and instruments for experiment and research. The lecture room of 
history has been provided with a full set of the most valuable mural maps, 
geographical and historical, on the largest scale and of the most accurate con¬ 
struction. 

The Literary societies of the College have been provided with large and 
handsome halls, which are furnished in the most comfortable manner. To each 
of these is attached an apartment for library and reading room. 

The chapel has been restored, and the remains of its illustrious dead still lie 
undisturbed within its walls. 

8 





18 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The library has been conveniently and handsomely furnished with cases for 
books, and already contains about six thousand volumes, obtained partly by 
purchase, and partly by the donations of public spirited individuals. 

Thus within one year the losses by the fire of February 8th, 1859, have in 
every material point of view, been completely restored; and in all the essen¬ 
tials of its building, furniture, apparatus and library, the College is now in a 
better condition than it Was on that day. 

In addition it maybe stated that the funds were ample to 
sustain a full Faculty, and the prospects for the future in 
every way encouraging. 

Early in May, 1861, the actual existence of war at its 
very threshold rendered it necessary to suspend the College 
exercises and to close its doors. The building was soon 
after seized by the military, and used first as a barrack and 
next as a hospital, until the evacuation of Williamsburg in 
May, 1862. Williamsburg is to a force holding James and 
York rivers the strategic point of the peninsula. 

The tides in deep creeks, emptying into the James and 
the York, and flanked by impassable morasses, ebb and 
flow within a mile of the city. The position is a narrow 
gorge, where the roads from above and below converge 
into a single one, passing directly through the place. It 
was, therefore, held by the United States army in the Pe¬ 
ninsula from the time of GenT McClellan’s advance on 
Richmond till the close of the war, almost without inter¬ 
mission, as an important post. At times, however, it was 
debatable ground, and was alternately in the possession of 
the contending forces. A conflict occurred on the 9th Sep¬ 
tember, 1862, between a detachment of Confederate cavalry 
and the United States garrison, then consisting of the 5th 
regiment Pennsylvania cavalry, in which the latter was 
worsted. The Confederates took possession of the town 
early in the day, but withdrew in a few hours. After they 
had retired, (by 11 A. M. of the same day all had gone,) 
returning stragglers of the garrison, provoked by their de¬ 
feat, under the influence of drink and before organization, 
or subordination was restored, fired and destroyed the prin- 




HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


19 


ciple building, with furniture and apparatus. For this, it is 
believed, no authority was given by the officers in command. 

At later periods of the war all the remaining houses on 
the College premises and the enclosures were burned, or 
pulled entirely to pieces, or greatly injured. 

The vaults in the College chapel were broken open and 
robbed of the silver plates attached to the coffins, and of 
whatever else of value they were found to Contain. This 
desecration was checked, as is stated, when it became known 
to the military commander. 

These facts are fully substantiated by the affidavits of eye¬ 
witnesses. 

It will require at least eighty thousand dollars to repair 
these losses and restore the College to what it was in 1860. 

At a convocation of the Board of Visitors and Gover¬ 
nors held during the month of August, 1865, in Richmond, 
it was determined to re-open the College at the usual time 
for beginning the session, to repair some of the College 
buildings for recitation rooms, and to provide other accom¬ 
modations necessary for the students. This was done, and 
sufficient temporary arrangements made. 

At the same time a Grammar School was established, to 
be under the care and supervision of the Faculty. 

The wisdom of this action is abundantly confirmed by 
the result. At this time, January 15th, 1866, there is a 
Grammar School in successful operation. The numbers com¬ 
posing the College classes exceed the anticipations of the 
most sanguine; nearly sixty attend the Academic exercises. 

The College of William and Mary, as well by its past 
history as its capacity for future usefulness, has a just claim 
to the sympathy and aid of the friends of learning, where- 
ever they are to be found. 

The following is from the address before quoted: 

The associations which cluster around this locality, render it peculiarly ap¬ 
propriate for a seat of learning. Can the young heart maintain a quiet pulse 
in wandering amid the ruins which tell of a glorious past, and everywhere 






20 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

meet his eye? Will he not gather from the very fragments which lie scattered 
over the earth at Jamestown, almost in sight of this spot, a lesson never to be 
forgotten, inspiring him with courage and perseverance in the great battle of 
life? 

Will not these fragments tell him a tale of hardship and suffering on the 
part of the early settlers unequaled in the history of his race, and of an ulti¬ 
mate triumphant conclusion more grand in its results than fancy ever sketched 
or poet in rapt imagination ever sang ? 

Will not that broken steeple, reared centuries ago in honor of the living 
God, preach to him like an aged minister, and impress upon his heart the all- 
governing truth that without Divine assistance nothing great and nothing good 
can ever be accomplished •? 

Does he seek incentives to an ardent and burning patriotism ? Let him visit 
the ruins of the old capitol, and ponder there until his heart expands and his 
lips give utterance to that exclamation which aroused a continent from slum¬ 
ber. 

Let him, then, find his way to the Apollo Hall of the old Raleigh Tavern, 
and mix with the noble spirits in their deep deliberations on the great crises 
that had arisen. Those who assembled there w'ere for the most part his elder 
brothers, sons of the same Alma Mater. 

In a few hours thereafter he may find himself wandering over the entrench¬ 
ments at Yorktown, behind which British power made its last defence. 

These memorials of the mighty past are not dead and voiceless. They speak 
more eloquently than the Roman or Athenian of old before the Senate or As¬ 
sembly of the people. They tell of past glory and are the oracles that unveil 
the future. Sinking deep into the heart of youth, they inspire it with the 
lofty desires which make ambition virtue. 

The oldest, save one, of all the Literary Institutions of the United States, 
William and Mary has contributed its full share to the public enlightenment, 
and made a mark in history which neither fire can consume nor dust nor ashes 
obscure. Thrice now has its genius been driven by cruel flames from the edi¬ 
fices erected for her abode. To-day she is banished from her ancient temple ; 
that temple is now in ruins. 

Surely these hallowed walls, in which the calm voice of 
Philosophy has for so many generations been heard, will 
not be allowed to stand through future ages a blackened 
monument of the desolations of war, and a reproach to 
our age and people. On the contrary, new and more beau¬ 
tiful temples will arise to receive and welcome the genius of 
education, and to foster that Philosophy and those Arts and 
Sciences, the achievements of which it is the glory of a na¬ 
tion to honor as the noblest victories of peace. 









HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


FACULTY. 


BENJAMIN S. EWELL, PkesIdent. 

EDWIN TALIAFERRO, A. M., 

Professor of Latin and Latin Literature and the Romance Languages. 

EDWARD S. JOYNES, A. M., 

Professor of Greek and Greek Literature and German. 

*********** 

Professor of Moral Philosophy and Political Economy. 

BENJ. S. EWELL, 

Professor of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy and. Mathematics. 

THOS. T. L. SNEAD, A. M., 

Adjunct Professor of Mathematics. 

THOMAS P. McCANDLISH, A. M., 

Assistant Professor of Ancient Languages and Mathematics. 

CHARLES MORRIS, 

Professor of Law. 

E. TALIAFERRO, 

Librarian. 

WM. R. GARRETT, 

Master of Grammar School. 


21 







22 


HISTORICAL SKETCH 


VISITORS 


OF THE 


COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY 


IN VIRGINIA IN 1800. 


Right Rev. JOHN JOHNS, D. D., Bishop of Virginia, Rector. 


WM. BOULWARE, 

Dr. EDW’D. P. SCOTT, 
Hon. HENRY A. WISE, 


EDW’D. T. TAYLOE, 

Dr. NATH’L. M. OSBORNE, 
Judge WILLIAM W. CRUMP, 


Hon. WM. H. MACFARLAND, DAVID MAY, 


WM. B. HARRISON, 
TAZEWELL TAYLOR, 


Rt. Rev. JOHN JOHNS, D. D., 
HUGH BLAIR GRIGSBY, L. L. D., 


Rev. GEORGE WOODBRIDGE, D. D, Hon. JAMES LYONS, 
GEORGE W. LEWIS, 

WM. H. E. MORECOCK, 

Secretary of the Board of Visitors, 

Williamsburg , Va. 














1 

































































































♦ 
















♦ 
















































































































- 























667 A 






■ 





















































. 






























